Tennis - ATP World Tourhttps://www.atptour.com/Headline News - powered by FeedBurnerenWed, 19 Dec 2018 02:30:39 -0500https://www.atptour.com/en/video/anderson-helps-raise-more-than-100000-at-charity-eventCharityTennys SandgrenMike BryanKevin AndersonBob BryanATP Aces for Charity2018Off Court NewsAnderson Helps Raise More Than $100,000 At Charity EventGo behind the scenes at Kevin Anderson's Grand Slam Cause for the Paws, which raised more than $100,000 for charity. Photo Credit: Ben Blankenburg.Tue, 18 Dec 2018 17:03:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/ram-graduates-indiana-university-east-2018Player FeaturesOff Court News2018Rajeev RamRam Graduates Indiana University East<p>Most tennis players on the ATP Tour think about success in terms of match wins, titles, or meeting an ATP Ranking goal. But recently, Rajeev Ram accomplished something that has been more than 15 years in the making, receiving his college degree from Indiana University East, a partner of the ATP Tour in supporting Tour members in their pursuit of higher education opportunities.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was always something I knew I wanted to do. I wasn&rsquo;t sure how I was going to do it. I actually explored a couple of options like community college. I knew I wanted to do it online obviously because while I&rsquo;m playing I had no chance to actually be a regular student,&rdquo; Ram said. &ldquo;It just seemed like it was always the right fit, the perfect timing and everything, so I took advantage of it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Ram attended the University of Illinois for one semester in 2003, winning the NCAA Doubles National Championship with Brian Wilson. He then left school to embark on his career as a professional tennis player, but never left the hopes of earning a degree behind.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big deal in our family. It was actually a big deal for me to leave school early to start with to pursue professional tennis. It&rsquo;s always been a thing that my parents made pretty clear, that [getting a degree] would be something beneficial for me to have,&rdquo; Ram said. &ldquo;So I think it&rsquo;s always been in the back of my head, not knowing how I was actually going to go about it. I wasn&rsquo;t sure about that and when the ATP came up with this program with IU East, it seemed like a pretty good fit.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Ram was the first ATP Tour player to enroll at Indiana University East under the educational agreement, which provides several options for players to complete their degree online. Ram, who has won 17 tour-level doubles titles and lifted two singles trophies, earned a General Studies Degree with a concentration in humanities and behavioral science.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I enjoyed some of the psychology classes because obviously with tennis there&rsquo;s a big psychological component and I think learning even a very basic level of psychology was pretty interesting because I could relate to it via what I do on the court.&rdquo;</p>
<p>For some, school may seem like a burden with all the work that comes with it. It may appear especially difficult for a player on the ATP Tour to handle. But Ram, who began at Indiana University East in fall 2015, enjoyed the experience.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t mind it at all. It was kind of a nice way to focus on something else. A lot of times with tennis we get so revved up in these types of things: matches, training and traveling. It was a really nice way to put my brain to work in another arena and I did some of my best schoolwork on long plane flights,&rdquo; Ram said. &ldquo;I had nothing else to distract me, I&rsquo;d download a couple of assignments and on an international flight, it was quite conducive to that. </p>
<p>&ldquo;I think it was a great distraction, almost. It was something I could concentrate on that was not tennis, especially if for some reason if I had a tough match or a tough week or a tough stretch, it was something outside of that to focus on and to immerse myself in, if you will. But I just feel like I was able to do it at my pace and I was able to do it pretty much how I wanted, which made it nice.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Ram had especially high praise for the staff at Indiana University East and its work to make the process seamless for him.</p>
<p>&ldquo;They really understood and appreciated the fact that I was a tennis player, I travel a lot and I&rsquo;m still attempting to do this. They worked with me, especially my scheduling advisor,&rdquo; Ram said. &ldquo;It was nice to have that guidance to make it not be an incredible burden. I never thought about it being too much or that I didn&rsquo;t want to do it anymore. I did it at my own pace and it was never something I felt so much pressure about.&rdquo;</p>
<p>And now, more than 15 years after leaving Illinois, Ram has accomplished a longtime goal.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice. It&rsquo;s definitely rewarding and there&rsquo;s definitely a sense of accomplishment with it, too,&rdquo; Ram said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a sense of closure, almost. I started college, I left early and it was always there in the back of my mind, maybe even moreso if I had not gone to college at all in the first place.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Did You Know?<br />
</strong>-&nbsp;In conjunction with Indiana University East, scholarships are available to ATP members who meet the criteria for admission and enroll in a degree program at the University. Indiana University East&rsquo;s online degree completion programs offer the flexibility to fit studying around a tournament schedule.</p>Tue, 18 Dec 2018 16:25:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/vajda-atp-awards-2018-coach-of-the-yearAwardsMarian Vajda2018CoachVajda Named ATP Coach Of The Year<p>Marian Vajda&nbsp;was named the ATP Caoch of the Year in the 2018 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Mo&euml;t &amp; Chandon, in recognition of his efforts to help Novak Djokovic climb from No. 22 in the ATP Rankings in June to World No. 1 to finish the year. </p>
<p>&ldquo;I would like to really dedicate this to all of our team,&rdquo; said Vajda, who returned to Djokovic&rsquo;s team along with fitness coach Gebhard Gritsch in April after a one-year split. </p>
<p>Djokovic got off to a slow 6-6 start to 2018, undergoing a right elbow procedure after the Australian Open. But once reunited with Vajda, Djokovic&rsquo;s season took off. Grand Slam victories at&nbsp;Wimbledon&nbsp;and the&nbsp;US Open, as well as ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns in Cincinnati and Shanghai highlighted his efforts, as Djokovic finished atop the year-end ATP Rankings for the fifth time.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really glad that after coming back, he reached No. 1 in the world,&rdquo; Vajda said of his pupil&rsquo;s run of form.</p>
<p>The award was nominated and voted on by fellow ATP coach members. Fellow finalists were Jan de Witt (Nikoloz Basilashvili), Carlos Moya&nbsp;(Rafael Nadal), Sebastian Prieto&nbsp;(Juan Martin del Potro) and Simone Vagnozzi&nbsp;(Marco Cecchinato).</p>Tue, 18 Dec 2018 16:02:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/mirnyi-retirement-tribute-2018ATP HeritageRetirementsMax Mirnyi2018Player FeaturesThe Legacy Of Max 'The Beast' Mirnyi<style>
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<p>The day before his 10th birthday, Max Mirnyi sat in front of his family&rsquo;s black and white television in Minsk, Belarus. It was around 10 pm &mdash; well past the youngster&rsquo;s bedtime &mdash; but Mirnyi&rsquo;s parents let him stay awake to watch highlights of that day&rsquo;s 1987 Wimbledon final, in which<a rel="noopener noreferrer" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/atp-heritage-cash-1987-wimbledon" target="_blank"> Pat Cash upset Ivan Lendl to lift the trophy</a>. </p>
<p>It was Mirnyi&rsquo;s first exposure to tennis on television. You can say that evening&rsquo;s sports news show changed his life forever. </p>
<p> &ldquo;I saw this checkerboard bandana and I saw him move like a cat at the net and I was fascinated,&rdquo; Mirnyi told ATPTour.com. &ldquo;I remember one of the shots that he hit was behind the back. Lendl hit a smash and he made a reflex behind the back and I said, &lsquo;Wow, that&rsquo;s cool!&rsquo; It was on a black and white TV, but nevertheless I had the imagination of the grass being green.&rdquo; </p>
<p>Mirnyi was hooked, and suddenly that young boy &mdash; who probably should have been asleep &mdash; had a dream. And he certainly made it come true.</p>
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<p>Just more than a decade later, Mirnyi began to find his footing as a professional. Still just No. 228 in the ATP Rankings in April 1999, the Belarusian played Jim Courier at two ATP World Tour events in Florida (Orlando and Delray Beach) within the space of a month. Mirnyi molded his game as a teenager at the IMG Academy in Florida, under the guidance of Nick Bollettieri. It was at that same facility that Courier grew up, eventually becoming a World No. 1. </p>
<p> &ldquo;I remember that early in the match I was getting a sense of confidence, even though I was maybe trailing or being even on the scoreline. I was feeling that, &lsquo;Wow, if it&rsquo;s 4-4 in the first set or if I&rsquo;m still competing with Jim Courier, it means that I&rsquo;m doing something that&rsquo;s causing him discomfort&rsquo;,&rdquo; Mirnyi remembered. &ldquo;Beating him there, those two weeks, I felt like that&rsquo;s some sort of a sign for me to really believe that I belong and it definitely gave me the push from within to continue and try to make it a career.&rdquo; </p>
<p>And that Mirnyi did. He would earn his first Top 10 win the next year against Lleyton Hewitt at the Sydney Olympics, and he&rsquo;d eventually tally 16 victories against Top 10 opponents in singles. </p>
<p>Mirnyi&rsquo;s two greatest singles accomplishments were <a rel="noopener noreferrer" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/atp-heritage-mirnyi-2003-rotterdam" target="_blank">winning his lone singles title at Rotterdam in 2003</a> and reaching the 2001 Stuttgart final, beating four legends &mdash; Gustavo Kuerten, Goran Ivanisevic, Pete Sampras and Yevgeny Kafelnikov &mdash; en route to the championship match before losing to fellow Bollettieri pupil Tommy Haas.</p>
<p><img alt="Mirnyi" width="100%" src="-/media/82278ac2772e48ec8c354db93fced060.ashx" /></p>
<p> &ldquo;This is what I was training for and believing in since I was a kid. When I was growing up and starting to watch some tennis matches on TV, the Beckers and Edbergs, Pat Cash winning Wimbledon, I modeled my game after them and I believed that that was something I would like to do,&rdquo; said Mirnyi, who climbed as high as No. 18 in singles. &ldquo;I really enjoyed the top level of tennis and when I had those wins early in my career. I started believing.&rdquo; </p>
<p>What people might not realise is that Mirnyi defeated Roger Federer twice in their first four FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings on the singles court (Federer won the series 7-2). And not only that, but they won three doubles titles together, including an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event at Miami in 2003. </p>
<p> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s incredible, because I felt like Roger was one of my rivals, but I was a little bit older than him. When he was coming up, I felt like I had to beat him,&rdquo; said Mirnyi, whose biggest victory against Federer came in the Round of 16 of the 2002 US Open. &ldquo;I beat him in straight sets [in New York] and I didn&rsquo;t think much of [the victory]. I walked off the court winning in straight sets and thought, &lsquo;Who&rsquo;s next?&rsquo;... it was incredible that less than a year later, the guy was winning Wimbledon.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img alt="Mirnyi Federer" width="100%" src="-/media/53fe51d021754726bb3981b4daaa3d8f.ashx" /></p>
<p>And while Mirnyi didn&rsquo;t win that US Open quarter-final against Andre Agassi, he certainly made an impact on the legendary American. Agassi won all four of their FedEx ATP Head2Head matches, but that one meeting resonated enough for the icon to write about the Belarusian in his book, &ldquo;Open&rdquo;. </p>
<p> &ldquo;They call him &lsquo;The Beast&rsquo;, and it&rsquo;s an understatement,&rdquo; Agassi wrote. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s 6&rsquo;5&rdquo; and hits a serve that&rsquo;s among the scariest I&rsquo;ve ever faced. It has a burning yellow tail, like a comet, as it arcs high above the net and then swoops down upon you. I have no answer for that serve.&rdquo; </p>
<p>While Agassi didn&rsquo;t coin the nickname, it followed Mirnyi throughout his career. But perhaps what he became most known for was not how physically imposing he was, but how hard he worked at his craft. </p>
<p> &ldquo;I definitely don&rsquo;t consider myself a talented tennis player. I think from an early age, my parents developed this behaviour around me and for me that whatever I put my hands on, I had to be committed, be disciplined, give 100 per cent, be respectful,&rdquo; Mirnyi said. &ldquo;I never felt like it came easy to me. I felt that by putting in the work, this is how I would get results.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>Over a career that spanned more than two decades in which Mirnyi played a combined 1,711 singles and doubles matches, he never withdrew or retired from a match &mdash; his doubles partners were forced to retire just twice. And credit for that goes to taking care of his body day-in and day-out, during the most exciting highs and the most deflating lows. </p>
<p>It&rsquo;s taking care of what he could control that led Mirnyi to win a combined 1,024 matches (244-242 in singles, 780-445 in doubles), 53 titles (from 102 finals), and reach No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings. Mirnyi is one of just 19 players to reach World No. 1 in doubles and crack the Top 20 in singles. The Belarusian claimed the Nitto ATP Finals doubles title twice, six men&rsquo;s doubles Grand Slam trophies, four majors in mixed doubles and the 2012 Olympic mixed doubles gold medal with Victoria Azarenka after carrying the flag for Belarus at the Opening Ceremony. </p>
<p>Even in his final season on the ATP World Tour, at 41, Mirnyi grinded away. He won two titles alongside Philipp Oswald, and they finished the season at No. 18 in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings.</p>
<p><img alt="Mirnyi Oswald" width="100%" src="-/media/970ee088839b4a0b98a2b5d1b765ab9a.ashx" /></p>
<p> &ldquo;He walks the talk. I've never met any other person in my tennis career whose actions were as reliable as his word. He is the real deal and far away from fake," Oswald said. "Staying disciplined and being positive in every crucial moment is just natural to him and won him many matches. He was the leader in our partnership and I was trying to listen and learn on every move along our path. I'm really thankful to have had this opportunity to get so close to a player I&lsquo;ve always looked up to.&rdquo; </p>
<p>But as you might expect, Mirnyi respected everyone around him, not just his partners. At 12, his father took him from Belarus to Brooklyn, New York, before moving to Florida almost a year later just to get a chance to have International Tennis Hall of Famer Bollettieri watch him play. Bollettieri says that after one minute, he knew he would offer that 13-year-old a scholarship. And to this day, Mirnyi, who will turn his attention to his family &mdash; he has four children &mdash; and his Max Mirnyi Center in Belarus, still helps youngsters at the academy, no matter if he knows them or not.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He would never put the blame on his partner. He got the maximum out of what he had,&rdquo; Bollettieri said. &ldquo;When you work with a human being like this who is so humble, and works with all the juniors at the IMG Academy, he gives them advice, he asks about my family, he&rsquo;s a family man. If the world had more Max Mirnyis, there would never be war.&rdquo; </p>
<p>Mirnyi came a long way from sitting in front of his television as a kid in Belarus. The player he was in awe of that day, Cash, has gained just as much respect for Mirnyi since.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think more than anyone on the circuit today, Max led by example. I love the fact that he had old-school principles of fair play and respect but went as hard as he could as a competitor. He really got the best out of himself and that showed as a very fine singles player who excelled in doubles,&rdquo; Cash said. &ldquo;His work ethic on and off the court was really impressive right to his last days but to me but the most impressive thing was despite having competitive fire he was a really genuine, good guy. With his knowledge I believe he has a lot to offer the world of tennis and I hope we'll see him again in a different role.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Did You Know?<br />
</strong>Mirnyi was ranked in the Top 50 of the year-end ATP Rankings six straight years (2000-05). He also finished 19 consecutive seasons (1999-2017) inside the Top 50 of the ATP Doubles Rankings.</p>
<p><strong>Tributes To 'The Beast<br />
</strong><strong><strong><em>Mike Bryan<br />
</em></strong></strong>&ldquo;Max was an incredible talent and an amazing athlete. He was an absolute beast on the court and could hurt his opponents with so many weapons including his huge serve and blanketing coverage of the net. More importantly, Max played the game with class and is one of the nicest guys you&rsquo;ll ever meet. He epitomises professionalism in every way and worked extremely hard to maximise his potential. It was a pleasure competing and sharing the Tour with this legend for so many years. I&rsquo;m wishing him and his beautiful family the very best and I know he&rsquo;ll be successful in anything he decides to do in this next phase of life.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><em>Bob Bryan</em><br />
</strong>&ldquo;It was an honour to spend 20 years on tour with &lsquo;The Beast&rsquo;. There isn&rsquo;t a more professional, hard-working, or nicer player out there. He was a nightmare to play against but a pleasure to be around. I wish Max and his family success and happiness in their next chapter.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><em>Daniel Nestor</em><br />
</strong>&ldquo;Sad to see Max retire. Thought he still had a lot of good tennis left in him. Really enjoyed our time together on court and wish we could have played longer together. One of the best all-around players in singles and doubles in the history of our sport.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><em>Jonas Bjorkman<br />
</em></strong>"I&rsquo;m so happy for Max, for what he has achieved in his great career and I think he really maximized his tennis &mdash; both in singles and doubles &mdash; purely because of his extraordinary professionalism as an athlete. I&rsquo;ve never seen anyone so disciplined when it comes to preparation, focus on practice, and focus and positive energy on the court in matches. It was such a privilege to play doubles with him because you always had fun on court, no matter whether you were winning or losing. There was always positive energy."</p>
<p>"He was always dangerous for any player on any surface with the type of gameplay he had in singles. In doubles he was obviously a monster on court with his flexibility, his athleticism, but also the weapons he had in doubles were perfect with his big serve, his reach at the net and being very aggressive... He had an unbelievable career and I think he was a phenomenal ambassador for the sport of tennis and a phenomenal ambassador for Belarus. I was there playing Davis Cup against him and he took care of the whole Swedish team in a phenomenal way and I know how appreciated he is back home because of what he has achieved, but also because of how he has promoted his country throughout his career and I&rsquo;m so happy to see that he got the chance to carry the flag in the Olympics. He really will be missed by many on the ATP circuit, no doubt. I would be surprised if he has any enemies out there, because he has treated people the same way for all these years."</p>
<p>"During our partnership, we had a lot of great success. It&rsquo;s obviously going to be a special memory always for me that we managed to win the French Open together, which was the last Grand Slam that I hadn&rsquo;t won in my career, so to fulfill my dream of winning all four Grand Slams, and to do it with Max, it was amazing. And to come back and win again was even more of a great feeling to be able to do that. Obviously we can look back to a lot of great victories. I think we really had a great partnership. We really helped each other to support our weaknesses and strengths as a doubles team. With his big serve to my weapon of returning, I think that combo was a perfect matchup and always made it hard for our opponents to play us and that we always were positive on the court. We never gave up, no matter what the score was. I think that was tough for anyone to know, that physically it took a lot to beat us. Only great memories from that time with Max."</p>
<p><strong><em>Mark Knowles</em><br />
</strong>&ldquo;&rsquo;The Beast&rsquo; is one of the most professional players that I have ever seen. He achieved absolutely everything on the court. I had some great matches with him, but was also fortunate enough to have had the honour to play with him! His humility, grace, athleticism, talent and most of all, his flexibility make Max one of the most admired players on Tour. He is a great family man and I know that Max will go on to continued success off the court. Wishing you and your family all the best. Congrats, Beast!&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><em>Philipp Oswald</em><br />
</strong>&ldquo;I&lsquo;ve got lots of stories and quotes to tell about one of the greatest in our sport. I'm actually really sad that I won't see him anymore on a daily basis, but also happy for him that he is able to call it a day without any regrets and without a big show. Because that's how he is, a clean-cut guy with both feet on the ground and an authentic personality.</p>
<p>I think what I admire most about the Beast is besides all the success he had, that he is such a polite and respectful personality who treats everyone the same and never from above. He never shows off with his big career, he rather chooses to listen in conversations and would remember every name or story being told. He never leaves a question unanswered and I witnessed his human qualities on so many occasions. The way he interacted with children on those "kids&rsquo; days" at tournaments or the way he handled my coaches, friends and family was just top class. He is a very fine person &mdash; a real Sir and gentleman&hellip; </p>
<p>His professionalism is just outstanding and he's a great ambassador for the doubles tour and our sport in general. </p>
<p>His nickname &lsquo;The Baest&rsquo; I guess is based on his athleticism, because besides that I got to know him as very careful human being with great values and this outstanding personality&hellip; I can't even thank him enough for his commitment and dedication at this stage of his career towards our partnership and this job. He is a great role model and will always be the greatest mentor I&acute;ve shared the court with and a great inspiration.&rdquo; </p>
<p><strong><em>Nick Bollettieri</em></strong><br />
&ldquo;He was a big, dangly boy. Coordination only fair. But what shows beyond a shadow of doubt is that he overcame those obstacles by his mindset and determination to be the best that he could be and that is what makes Max Mirnyi. He knows what he could do, and what he can&rsquo;t do. He knew the longer he stayed on the baseline, his chances dropped down tremendously. He knew what he had to do: develop a serve, get confident on the volley and get his behind into the net, and that&rsquo;s what he did.</p>
<p>He offset some limitations &mdash; not having a big forehand &mdash; he offset those limitations by coming into the net and that&rsquo;s what helped him become a tremendous player.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><em>Tommy Haas</em></strong><br />
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve known him since I was 13 years old. I remember the old days at Bollettieri&rsquo;s. One thing that always stuck out about Max is he was very respectful. One of the hardest workers that I&rsquo;ve known, always doing his work that he needed to do to be the best player he could possibly be. He&rsquo;s had a tremendous career. People also forget he had a great career in singles. He managed to go to No. 18 in the world. I remember winning my first Masters 1000 title on my home soil in Stuttgart, Germany, I beat him in the final where he beat Kafelnikov and Pete Sampras. So he was obviously a very dangerous, good player. Old school, serve and volley. But he was a tremendous, tremendous athlete and until the end he played some very good tennis. Even looking at him now, he&rsquo;s 41 years old, but still in tip-top shape. He has such a respect for the game, and he&rsquo;s going to leave a mark with whatever he does in tennis, if he&rsquo;s helping out coaching or running an academy or a camp. What a career he&rsquo;s had&hellip; it&rsquo;s good to see people like this succeed.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><em>Victoria Azarenka</em><br />
</strong>&ldquo;Congratulations on an amazing career, Max! Thank you for all the memories, both on and off the court. Thank you for being a role model in our sport for many kids in our country and around the world. Congratulations again and I am so proud of you and grateful for sharing amazing moments together.&rdquo;</p>Tue, 18 Dec 2018 14:15:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-of-2018-retirements-haas-nestor-saBest Of 20182018ATP HeritagePlayer FeaturesTommy HaasBest of 2018: Player Retirements (Part One)<p>Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com pays tribute to six players who retired in 2018. In part two of our two-part series, we will look back at the careers of five other players, including Mikhail Youzhny.</p>
<img alt="Haas" width="100%" src="-/media/d36385c79d024e61b3f87958d0b88b46.ashx" /><br />
<strong>Tommy Haas (Retired: 16 March), career-high No. 2<br />
</strong>There were many highs and injury lows &mdash; nine surgeries in total &mdash; during the German&rsquo;s career, which took him to as high as No. 2 in the ATP Rankings on 13 May 2002 and eight Top 20 season finishes. The 39-year-old Haas lifted 15 ATP Tour trophies from 28 finals, he won 569 matches&mdash;second-most among Germans in the Open Era to Boris Becker (713) and earned the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He was twice named as the ATP Comeback Player of the Year in 2004 and 2012, with his final tour-level match win coming against his good friend, Roger Federer, in June 2017 at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart. In June 2016, Haas was named Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, a role he will continue in his playing retirement. <strong><a href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/haas-retirement-tribute-indian-wells-2018">Read &amp; Watch Tribute</a></strong>
<p><img alt="Falla" width="100%" src="-/media/7f3b87d154774f11ba4842886c9683f6.ashx?w=100%25" />
<strong>Alejandro Falla (Retired: 25 January), career-high No. 48<br />
</strong>The first Colombian to break into the Top 100 since Mauricio Hadad in 1996, Falla&rsquo;s career-high arguably came in defeat in the 2010 Wimbledon first round. At 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 5-4, Falla came within three points of beating Roger Federer, but he blinked. Tour-level victories over Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martin del Potro, Ivan Ljubicic and Tommy Haas were also huge confidence boosters for Falla, who rose to a career-high No. 48 on 16 July 2012.
</p>
<p>On home soil in 2013, Falla advanced to the inaugural Bogota tournament final (l. to Karlovic) and the following year at the 2014 Gerry Weber Open, he became the first Colombian to reach a grass-court final (l. to Federer). His best Grand Slam championship result came in 2011, when, as a qualifier, he advanced to the fourth round (l. to Chela). The 34-year-old left-hander also had an 11-8 record in ATP Challenger Tour finals. <strong><a rel="noopener noreferrer" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/falla-retires-january-2018" target="_blank">Read More</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><img alt="Groth" width="100%" src="-/media/dff657fa7d984055a3f28e5059cef8b8.ashx" />
<strong>Sam Groth (Retired: 24 January), career-high No. 53<br />
</strong></strong>The Australian was one of the biggest serves on the ATP Tour, but at the end of 2017 lacked desire. &ldquo;I just don't think my heart was in it to keep going,&rdquo; said 30-year-old Groth. &ldquo;I wanted to be able to go out at home as well.&rdquo;</p>
<strong>
</strong>
<p>So, in partnership with his great mate, Lleyton Hewitt, Groth bid farewell to the sport at this year's Australian Open. He rose to a career-high No. 53 in the ATP Rankings in 2015, the year he reached the third round at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Groth, who won two doubles titles with Chris Guccione at 2014 Bogota and 2016 Newport, played Aussie Rules football in 2011, before returning to tennis in 2012. <strong><a href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/groth-retirement-january-2018">Read More</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><img alt="Nestor" width="100%" src="-/media/17c5919b29f54000b2c8e253ec5bf420.ashx" />
<strong>Daniel Nestor (Retired: 15 September), career-high doubles No. 1<br />
</strong></strong>Father Time waits for no one. Not even 45-year-old Nestor, the tactician with a killer left-handed serve and great variety, who was the first doubles player to pass the 1,000 match wins milestone on 11 January 2016. The Canadian&rsquo;s resume speaks for itself: 91 tour-level doubles titles (with 11 different partners), including eight Grand Slam championship men&rsquo;s doubles crowns, doubles World No. 1 on 19 August 2002, 10 stints at the top of the ATP Doubles Rankings, more than 15 years in the Top 10 and plenty more accolades to celebrate.</p>
<p>As a singles competitor, he recorded four Top 10 wins and rose to a career-high No. 58 in the ATP Rankings. Fittingly, his final ATP Tour event came at his 30th Rogers Cup. <strong><a href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nestor-retirement-tribute-toronto-2018">Read &amp; Watch Tribute</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><img alt="Sa" width="100%" src="-/media/22f901149594444295e1d06b836447a5.ashx" />
<strong>Andre Sa (Retired: 1 March), career-high doubles No. 17<br />
</strong></strong>Hailing from the talent hotbed of Minas T&ecirc;nis Clube, the Brazilian moved to the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida aged 13 and for much of his 23-season pro career was a talented player, a diplomat and ambassador, comfortable in dealing with complex matters. As a speaker of five languages, Sa was a knowledgeable advocate for the development of tennis on the ATP Player Council from 2012 to 2016.</p>
<strong>
</strong>
<p>The Brazilian captured 11 ATP Tour doubles crowns (11-19 finals record) and advanced to the 2007 Wimbledon semi-finals with Marcelo Melo. As a singles competitor he reached the 2002 Wimbledon quarter-finals (l. to Henman) and rose to a career-high No. 55 on 12 August 2002. <strong><a href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/atp-heritage-sa-retirement-tribute-sao-paulo-2018">Read &amp; Watch Tribute</a></strong></p>
<p><img alt="Scott Lipsky and Eric Butorac capture their third team title in Estoril." width="100%" src="-/media/b486be6e93b744999008a3beb4ab6454.ashx" /><br />
<strong>Scott Lipsky (Retired: 25 June), career-high doubles No. 21<br />
</strong>A standout junior and a three-time All-American Stanford graduate, Lipsky carved out a successful doubles career that included 16 ATP Tour titles, five of which came on Portuguese soil. The 36-year-old, who tore his meniscus in in 2017, contested his final tournament at Roland Garros, the scene of his 2011 mixed doubles title with Australia&rsquo;s Casey Dellacqua.</p>
<p>"You watch these matches on television, and you wish that someday you can be there,&rdquo; said Lipsky. &ldquo;To be on this stage playing a Grand Slam final, and to come out with a win, and to say now for the rest of my life that I&rsquo;m a Grand Slam champion, it's amazing."</p>
<p>With Rajeev Ram, the duo lost to fellow Stanford graduates Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the 2014 US Open semi-finals. He rose to a career-high No. 21 in the ATP Doubles Rankings on 17 June 2013.</p>Tue, 18 Dec 2018 14:14:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/video/vajda-named-2018-atp-coach-of-the-yearAwards2018Vajda Named 2018 ATP Coach Of The YearMarian Vajda, who guided Novak Djokovic back to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings in 2018, is named the ATP Coach of the Year in the 2018 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moet &amp; Chandon.Mon, 17 Dec 2018 17:52:36 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/anderson-charity-event-december-2018CharityPlayer CharityKevin Anderson2018Read & Watch: Anderson Helps Raise More Than $100,000 At Charity Event<p>Kevin Anderson helped raise more than $100,000 last weekend at his inaugural Grand Slam Cause For the Paws, supporting South Florida dog rescue Dezzy's Second Chance and Ocean Conservancy.</p>
<p>The idea came about in January 2017, when Anderson had to miss the Australian swing due to injury. The South African and wife, Kelsey Anderson, were eating lunch one day in Florida just after practice when Kelsey saw a dog that caught her attention.</p>
<p>&ldquo;A few weeks later, we adopted her, and since then we&rsquo;ve really gotten close with the rescue,&rdquo; said Anderson of &lsquo;Lady Kady&rsquo;, the dog the Andersons adopted from Dezzy&rsquo;s Second Chance. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why a weekend like this so exciting for us.&rdquo;</p>
<p>On Saturday, former player and comedian Michael Kosta hosted a question-and-answer session, and there was also a live auction. Former ATP star Sebastien Grosjean and WTA players Eugenie Bouchard and Shelby Rogers also attended. Rain delayed the tennis portion of the event, but there was plenty of action on Sunday at the Boca Grove Plantation Tennis Center, as Anderson and American Tennys Sandgren faced Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.</p>
<p><img alt="Grosjean, Sandgren, Kosta, Anderson, Rogers, Bouchard" width="100%" src="-/media/ca8ca9f2d8cb45e99cf7ec5113e698e5.ashx" /><br />
<em><sup>Sebastien Grosjean, Tennys Sandgren, Michael Kosta, Kevin Anderson, Shelby Rogers and Eugenie Bouchard.<br />
</sup></em>&ldquo;This was a great event,&rdquo; Mike Bryan said. &ldquo;It had a great turnout, raising a lot of money for some unbelievable causes. He helped us out with our event a few days ago and we&rsquo;re happy to help him. He&rsquo;s one of the nicest guys on Tour, does a lot for charity, so it was a pleasure playing him in the exhibition.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Everyone involved backed the special causes. Anderson has posted on social media about the importance of reducing single-use plastics, reusing safe plastics and recycling.</p>
<p>[ALSO LIKE]</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hats off for what they&rsquo;re doing,&rdquo; Bob Bryan said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re happy to support whenever we can. He&rsquo;s done so much for us, he&rsquo;s a great friend of ours and we&rsquo;ll be doing this event for a lot of years.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sandgren gave credit to the effort the Andersons put into the event, and was happy to do whatever he could to offer his support.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Kevin and Kelsey are awesome people and they do a lot of great work, and they&rsquo;ve worked so hard to get this charity event running. So when he asked me to participate, I didn&rsquo;t even think twice about it,&rdquo; Sandgren said. &ldquo;The fact that there are two great causes that we&rsquo;re fighting for here &mdash; for dogs getting a second chance and for the ocean&rsquo;s health and renewable plastics &mdash; I think it&rsquo;s fantastic. I think both of these causes are great and I&rsquo;m excited to be helping out.&rdquo;</p>
<p>While the event is over, there are still time&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="andersoncauseauction.org" target="_blank">left in and online auction in which</a> fans can bid on items signed by the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and more, with all proceeds going to charity.</p>Mon, 17 Dec 2018 17:04:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/first-time-winners-part-2-2018First Time Winner2018Mischa ZverevMatteo BerrettiniNikoloz BasilashviliYoshihito NishiokaStefanos TsitsipasKyle EdmundBest of 2018: First-Time Winners Part 2<p><em>Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com pays tribute to the first-time winners of the 2018 season. In part two of our two-part series, we look at the year's final six first-time winners.</em></p>
<p><strong>Mischa Zverev - Eastbourne [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/first-time-winner-spotlight-2018-zverev-eastbourne">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp; <br />
Employing an exclusive serve-and-volley gameplan, Mischa Zverev turned back the clock to take his first ATP World Tour title at the Nature Valley International in June. Zverev lifted his maiden trophy on the grass of Eastbourne with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Lukas Lacko, sprinting forward and slicing and dicing his way to the crown after one hour and 37 minutes.</p>
<p>It was a long time coming for then 30-year-old Zverev, who dropped as low as No. 1067 in March 2015 after dealing with a series of injuries.</p>
<p>"It feels amazing," said Zverev. "It was definitely one of the emotional moments in my life... I always wanted to win at least a title. For many years I didn't believe in myself. I didn't think I was going to do it, especially when I was ranked No. 1100.</p>
<p>"But thank God I have my family and my brother and the whole team, my wife who is always telling me, 'No, you can achieve things, you can do big things. Just believe in yourself, work hard, and it's going to pay off one day.' Luckily I have them and luckily I was able to listen to them, believe in myself, and just keep working and wait for it. Finally, I'm here. It's incredible."</p>
<p><img alt="Zverev" width="100%" src="-/media/768a9808d399468fad359f52b6e59758.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>Matteo Berrettini - Gstaad [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/bautista-agut-berrettini-gstaad-2018-sunday ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp;<br />
Prior to arriving in Gstaad, Matteo Berrettini had never reached a tour-level quarter-final. But after beating three seeded opponents in five matches at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad, the Italian lifted his first ATP World Tour trophy.</p>
<p>Berrettini saved two set points in a tense first set before clinching the only break of the match to beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(9), 6-4 in one hour and 45 minutes. The 22-year-old Gstaad debutant, who also captured his maiden tour-level doubles trophy at the event, won each of his 49 service games en route to the title, navigating his way past fourth seed Andrey Rublev, eighth seed Feliciano Lopez and second-seeded Bautista Agut along the way.</p>
<p>"[It was an] unbelievable week," said Berrettini. "I think I played the best tennis of my life and I am really happy."&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="Berrettini" width="100%" src="-/media/99ee695d907144208836f04b9d7be23e.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>Nikoloz Basilashvili - Hamburg [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/basilashvili-first-time-winner-spotlight-hamburg-2018">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp; <br />
Having trailed 3-5 in the third set of his final-round qualifying match, it seemed unlikely that Nikoloz Basilashvili would reach the main draw at the German Tennis Championships 2018 presented by Kampmann. But that did not stop the World No. 81 from making national history.</p>
<p>After rallying from behind to qualify for the ATP World Tour 500 event, the Georgian navigated his way past three Top 40 players to become the first man from his nation to capture an ATP World Tour title. Basilashvili defeated two-time Hamburg titlist Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 0-6, 7-5 in the championship match to rise to No. 35 in the ATP Rankings, setting another Georgian record.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What a match today. I&rsquo;m extremely tired, I played seven matches. I literally gave, in every match, my heart,&rdquo; Basilashvili said on court after the victory. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty sure every player worked so hard for this, but it&rsquo;s an unbelievable moment for me.&rdquo;</p>
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<p><strong>Yoshihito Nishioka - Shenzhen [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/first-time-winner-spotlight-nishioka-shenzhen-2018">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
</strong>Just 18 months after tearing his left ACL at the 2017 Miami Open presented by Itau, Yoshihito Nishioka became the sixth qualifier to win a tour-level title in 2018 at the Shenzhen Open, beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.</p>
<p>"I believe this is the beginning," said Nishioka. "[Now I will] try to win [ATP World Tour] 500 and [Masters] 1000 events... This is a very happy [moment] and I believe I can win more."</p>
<p>Nishioka, who saved two match points at 7-6(5), 3-6, 4-5 (15/40) against Denis Shapovalov in the second round, won 61 per cent of second-serve return points and withstood 12 aces from Herbert to lift his first tour-level trophy after two hours and 20 minutes.</p>
<p><img alt="Nishioka" width="100%" src="-/media/2455bea2dca847bb943018b3e5196dec.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>Stefanos Tsitsipas - Stockholm [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/tsitsipas-stockholm-2018-first-time-winner ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp;<br />
#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas made history at the Intrum Stockholm Open. The 20-year-old, who had reached championship matches in Barcelona and Toronto earlier in the season, defeated qualifier Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-4 to become the first Greek to capture an ATP World Tour title.</p>
<p>Tsitsipas dominated on serve, winning 80 per cent of his service points and saving the only break point he faced. The No. 3 seed dropped the second set of his opening-round match against John Millman, but then won seven consecutive sets to emerge victorious in the Swedish capital.</p>
<p>"Of course I feel happy because I'm the first Greek [to win a title]. Hopefully many Greek players can achieve something like this. I would be super happy to see them achieve something like this in the future," Tsitsipas said. "Representing my country at such high-level tournaments, being the first Greek to crack the Top 100 is very, very special for me."</p>
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<p><strong>Kyle Edmund - Antwerp [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/edmund-antwerp-2018-first-time-winner ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp;<br />
After opening the season in style with a surprise run to the Australian Open semi-finals, Kyle Edmund became the final first-time winner of the 2018 season at the European Open in Antwerp. The British No. 1 claimed his maiden tour-level crown in dramatic fashion, defeating Frenchman Gael Monfils 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) after two hours and 27 minutes.</p>
<p>If there was any doubt that the moment meant a lot to the British No. 1, Edmund broke down into tears as he walked over to celebrate with his team after crushing a forehand winner down the line to clinch the milestone victory.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m obviously very happy. A lot of hard work goes into this. So it&rsquo;s just emotional,&rdquo; Edmund said on court. &ldquo;You always remember this one. Gael made me work for it today, that&rsquo;s for sure, so credit to him. I&rsquo;m just so happy.&rdquo;</p>
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</div>Mon, 17 Dec 2018 14:51:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-federer-break-points-infosys-dec-2018Beyond The NumbersInfosys2018Rafael NadalRoger FedererNadal, Federer Dominate The Break Points Better Than Anyone<p>Rafael Nadal was the king of break points in 2018.</p>
<p>The 32-year-old Spaniard finished the season at No. 2 in the ATP Rankings with a 45-4 record, including five titles. He also earned more than $8.6 million dollars in prize money. Nadal's outstanding performance in the crucible of break points &ndash; both when serving and receiving &ndash; was a major reason.</p>
<p>An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Nadal on break points in 2018 uncovered that he finished second best on tour this year with break points saved, and third best with break points converted.</p>
<p><span><strong>Rafael Nadal: 2018 Season<br />
No. 2:</strong></span> Break Points Saved = 70.46% (198//281) <br />
<span><strong>No. 3:</strong></span> Break Points Converted = 45.57% (216/474)</p>
<p>The following analysis <em>combines</em> break points saved when serving along with converting break points when receiving into <em>one</em> number. As you will see from the table below, which includes the best 10 players in this combined metric, Nadal&rsquo;s separation on break point is evident.</p>
<p><span><strong>2018 Season: Combined Total - Break Points Saved &amp; Converted</strong></span></p>
<table width="734" border="1" bordercolor="#000001" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #ffffff;">
<colgroup><col width="37" /> <col width="129" /> <col width="153" /> <col width="198" /> <col width="135" /> </colgroup>
<thead>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 6px;">
<p><strong>#</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p><strong>Player</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p><strong>Break Points Saved</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p><strong>Break Points Converted</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p><strong>Combined Total</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>1</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Rafael Nadal</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>70.46%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>45.57%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>116.03</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>2</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Roger Federer</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>68.49%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>41.88%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>110.37</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>3</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Pierre-Hugues Herbert</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>66.56%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>41.74%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>108.30</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>4</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Steve Johnson</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>70.75%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>36.3%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>107.05</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>5</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Pablo Carreno Busta</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>62.57%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>44.21%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>106.78</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>6</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Kei Nishikori</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>62.85%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>42.63%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>105.48</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>7</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Borna Coric</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>62.18%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>43.23%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>105.41</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>8</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Roberto Bautista Agut</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>63.64%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>41.76%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>105.40</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 7px;">
<p>9</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Adrian Mannarino</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>59.25%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>45.64%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>104.89</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 37px; height: 6px;">
<p>10</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 129px;">
<p>Gael Monfils</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 153px;">
<p>58.42%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 198px;">
<p>46.42%</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 135px;">
<p>104.84</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Roger Federer finished second best with the combined total (110.37), which helped power the Swiss to an end-of-season ATP ranking of No. 3. He also spent six weeks at No. 1 earlier in the year.</p>
<p>Gael Monfils finished 10th best in the combined totals list, and actually <a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/stats/break-points-converted/2018/all/all/">finished first in Break Points Converted for all players on tour in 2018</a>, winning 46.42 per cent (149/321). Steve Johnson was the tour leader in Break Points Saved, at 70.75 per cent (208/294).</p>
<p>Nadal and Federer both had an outstanding win rate on break points in 2018.</p>
<p style="background: transparent;"><span><strong>2018: Nadal &amp; Federer - Percentage of Break Points Played</strong></span></p>
<table width="734" border="1" bordercolor="#000001" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #ffffff;">
<colgroup><col width="166" /> <col width="168" /> <col width="167" /> <col width="167" /> </colgroup>
<thead>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 166px; height: 6px;">
<p style="background: transparent;"><strong>Players</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 168px;">
<p style="background: transparent;"><strong>Total Points Played</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 167px;">
<p style="background: transparent;"><strong>Break Points Played</strong></p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 167px;">
<p style="background: transparent;"><strong>% of Break Points</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 166px; height: 7px;">
<p style="background: transparent;">R. Nadal</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 168px;">
<p style="background: transparent;">7728</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 167px;">
<p style="background: transparent;">755</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 167px;">
<p style="background: transparent;">9.76%</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 166px; height: 6px;">
<p style="background: transparent;">R. Federer</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 168px;">
<p style="background: transparent;">9377</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 167px;">
<p style="background: transparent;">637</p>
</td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 167px;">
<p style="background: transparent;">6.79%</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="background: transparent;">The illustrious careers of both Nadal and Federer have been built around winning the big points, and 2018 was no exception.</p>Mon, 17 Dec 2018 13:57:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/kyrgios-charity-event-december-2018CharityATP Aces for CharityPlayer CharityPlayer FeaturesNick Kyrgios2018Kyrgios Makes Special Connection At Charity Event<style>
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<p>Nick Kyrgios has thrilled countless fans throughout the world with his tennis. But the Australian continues to prove that his kindness off the court makes an impact, too.</p>
<p>Kyrgios, who has ramped up his work with his self-named foundation this year, participated in the Get Set Games Charity Challenge at the Kaleen Tennis Club in Canberra, Australia, on Saturday. The event raised more than $5,000 for his foundation. </p>
<p>But more important were the memories that Kyrgios helped create for the nearly 100 children in attendance. One girl, Loga Gandhi, particularly caught Kyrgios&rsquo; eye.</p>
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<p>For the past 18 months, the eight-year-old has been recovering from a bone marrow transplant that was performed to treat leukemia. Gandhi was forced to stop playing tennis once diagnosed with leukemia in order to focus on her recovery. So for Kyrgios, it was an honour just to be able to hit some balls with her.</p>
<p>"For her to come out to have a hit, she felt up to it and that was pretty special,&rdquo; Kyrgios told the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/nick-kyrgios-has-big-fish-to-fry-in-australian-summer-of-tennis-20181215-p50mh8.html" target="_blank">Canberra Times</a>. "She found out about [her illness] when she started playing tennis, so she couldn't continue. I put a whole bag of stuff &mdash; clothes, tennis racquets and everything &mdash; and gave it to her. To hit with her was great, I got pretty emotional. It was heartwarming, but it breaks me as well."</p>
<p>The NK Foundation is continuing to raise funds in order to open a facility in Dandenong, Australia, where underprivileged youth will be able to visit for a safe haven. There will be tennis courts, basketball courts, a gym and a pool to give kids a chance to participate in various physical activities when they might not have an opportunity to do so elsewhere.</p>
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<p>Saturday&rsquo;s charity event was just another example of what Kyrgios wants to do to help children for years to come. </p>
<p>"I was excited to get out here and to get out with the kids again,&rdquo; Kyrgios said. &ldquo;To see the smiles on their faces [is great].&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><a rel="noopener noreferrer" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.atptour.com/en/news/charity-nick-kyrgios" target="_blank">View Kyrgios' Charity Profile</a></strong></p>Sun, 16 Dec 2018 20:11:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/first-time-winners-part-1-2018First Time Winner2018Daniil MedvedevMirza BasicRoberto Carballes BaenaFrances TiafoeMarco CecchinatoTaro DanielMarton FucsovicsBest of 2018: First-Time Winners Part 1<p><em>Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com pays tribute to the first-time winners of the 2018 season. In part one of our two-part series, we look at the year's first seven first-time winners.</em></p>
<p><strong>Daniil Medvedev - Sydney [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/daniil-medvedev-first-time-sydney-2018-saturday ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp;<br />
In the youngest ATP World Tour final since Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic at the 2007 BNP Paribas Open, Daniil Medvedev overcame home favourite and first-time tour-level finalist Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 at the Sydney International.</p>
<p>"It's amazing," Medvedev said. "I'm really happy. To make it through the qualies, there were so many circumstances. I wanted to go to Auckland, because my girlfriend had a visa to New Zealand, and not even one guy withdrew from Auckland... now I won here. So [it's] just amazing."</p>
<p>One year on from appearing in his first final in Chennai (l. to Bautista Agut), Medvedev needed two hours and 13 minutes to capture his maiden tour-level trophy. It proved to be the catalyst for a stellar 2018 season, with the Russian also lifting titles in Winston-Salem and Tokyo.</p>
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<p><strong>Mirza Basic - Sofia [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/basic-first-time-winner-spotlight-sofia-2018 ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp;<br />
In a meeting of first-time tour-level finalists, Mirza Basic overcame Marius Copil 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-4 to lift his maiden ATP World Tour singles crown at the Diema Xtra Sofia Open.</p>
<p>"It&rsquo;s a dream come true," said Basic. "I made the breakthrough to the Top 100 [of the ATP Rankings] and I won my first ATP [World Tour] title, so I&rsquo;m very happy. Winning the first [title] from the first [final] is a very good thing."</p>
<p>The 26-year-old became just the second player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to win a tour-level title, following compatriot Damir Dzumhur, who earned his maiden crown at the 2017 St. Petersburg Open. Basic, en route to the trophy, scored his first Top 20 win, upsetting Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals.</p>
<p><img alt="Basic" width="100%" src="-/media/3b93ec1ae2734904882fdd99016e2aca.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>Roberto Carballes Baena - Quito [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/first-time-winner-spotlight-2018-quito-carballes-baena ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]&nbsp;<br />
</strong>Entering the tournament seeking his first tour-level match win in almost a year, Roberto Carballes Baena could not have written a more dramatic script to lift his first ATP World Tour trophy at the Ecuador Open.</p>
<p>The Spanish qualifier won six matches in seven days, upsetting fourth seed Paolo Lorenzi and eighth seed Nicolas Jarry en route to the final, before overcoming second-seeded countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 28 minutes to finish off the dream run.</p>
<p>"Many feelings come to my mind and many years of training to achieve this," said Carballes Baena. "I thank my family, my parents in particular. They have been with me since I was little and have been behind me for a long time. We will celebrate this in Spain."&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="Carballes Baena" width="100%" src="-/media/2a9fd435dda540f9a27fd183c6c1e01e.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>Frances Tiafoe - Delray Beach [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/tiafoe-first-time-winner-spotlight-delray-beach-2018">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp; <br />
After defeating Juan Martin del Potro, Hyeon Chung and Denis Shapovalov en route to the final, wild card Frances Tiafoe coasted to his first ATP World Tour title in Delray Beach. The Maryland native beat Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 6-1, 6-4 to become the youngest American to win an ATP World Tour title since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston.</p>
<p>Before his appearance at the New York Open the previous week, Tiafoe had won nine tour-level matches (9-31) and had never reached a tour-level quarter-final. But after reaching the last eight in New York (l. to Anderson) and triumphing in Delray Beach, Tiafoe almost doubled his tour-level win count (16) in two weeks.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It's unbelievable. It's obviously a dream to win your first title," said Tiafoe. "Now I have got that off my back, so that feels pretty good so early in my career. It's an amazing feeling and I just hope I can get many more as I go along.&rdquo;</p>
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<p><strong>Marco Cecchinato - Budapest [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cecchinato-first-time-winner-spotlight-budapest-2018 ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp;<br />
After losing in the final round of qualifying in straight sets, Marco Cecchinato was handed a lifeline at the Gazprom Hungarian Open, gaining entry to the main draw as a lucky loser.</p>
<p>Seven days later, the World No. 92, who had never reached a tour-level semi-final before his arrival in Budapest, defeated fellow first-time tour-level finalist John Millman 7-5, 6-4 to claim his maiden trophy.</p>
<p>"I lost Sunday and now I won the tournament. It's amazing for me," Cecchinato said. "Maybe it's a dream."</p>
<p>The victory proved to be the start of a special run for the Italian, who stunned Novak Djokovic en route to the Roland Garros semi-finals and picked up his second title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag in July.</p>
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<p><strong>Taro Daniel - Istanbul [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/first-time-winner-spotlight-daniel-istanbul-2018 ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp;<br />
In another meeting of first-time tour-level finalists, Taro Daniel capped a memorable week in Istanbul with a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over Malek Jaziri at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open.</p>
<p>Prior to his arrival in Istanbul, the Japanese had never advanced to an ATP World Tour semi-final. He had owned a 6-15 record at all levels since October 2017. In his quarter-final against Rogerio Dutra Silva, Daniel came within one point of trailing 5-0 in the deciding set, but recovered well and then later found his best tennis against Jaziri in the two-hour, 22-minute championship match.</p>
<p>"Obviously [I am] really happy. I think today was a great match, a lot of long rallies from the beginning until the end," said Daniel. "I'm obviously pretty surprised that I suddenly won an ATP [World Tour title]. But I guess things like this happen."</p>
<p><img alt="Daniel" width="100%" src="-/media/9ff10741e6e94730b708c0b17b0b02ea.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>Marton Fucsovics - Geneva [<a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/fucsovics-first-time-winner-spotlight-geneva-2018 ">First-Time Winner Spotlight</a>]</strong>&nbsp;<br />
Marton Fucsovics made Hungarian history in front of a packed crowd at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, ousting Peter Gojowczyk 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and eight minutes to become the first Hungarian to claim a tour-level crown since 1982.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Following in the footsteps of countryman Balazs Taroczy, who lifted the last of his 13 titles in Hilversum, Fuscovics also assured himself of a place inside the Top 50 in the ATP Rankings for the first time. Fucsovics rose to No. 45 after his title run, becoming the first player from his country to break into the Top 50 since former World No. 12 Taroczy.</p>
<p>"I really love Switzerland," Fucsovics exclaimed. "Last year, I played my first ATP quarter-final in Basel and now I won my first title here, so it's really special for me. We've been working a long time for this. The last two years were very hard for me in my life, but hopefully I will have a very long career after this."</p>
<p><img alt="Fucsovics" width="100%" src="-/media/33ce1c8e75214b85bc6be125659d4d9c.ashx" /></p>Sun, 16 Dec 2018 14:08:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-of-2018-challenger-by-the-numbersBest Of 2018Challenger2018The Numbers Game: 2018 ATP Challenger Tour<style>
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<p><strong>Win-Loss Percentage Leaders</strong><br />
Australia's Jordan Thompson was the lone player to eclipse the 50-win mark this year, capping his campaign with a 52-17 record. It is the second-most match wins in a single season in Challenger history, behind only Carlos Berlocq's 57 victories in 2010.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Vasek Pospisil was the most consistent performer with a tour-leading .784 win percentage (min. 25 matches played). Pospisil, Reilly Opelka (.756), Thompson (.754) and Christian Garin (.754) were the top performers on the circuit.&nbsp;</p>
<table class="articleTable" width="100%" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td><strong>Wins-Losses</strong></td>
<td><strong>Percentage</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Vasek Pospisil</td>
<td>29-8</td>
<td>.784</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Reilly Opelka</td>
<td>34-11<br />
</td>
<td>.756</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jordan Thompson</td>
<td>52-17</td>
<td>.754</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Christian Garin</td>
<td>46-15</td>
<td>.754</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pablo Andujar</td>
<td>21-8</td>
<td>.724</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ugo Humbert&nbsp;</td>
<td>34-13&nbsp;</td>
<td>.723&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Guido Andreozzi&nbsp;</td>
<td>38-15&nbsp;</td>
<td>.717&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Juan Ignacio Londero&nbsp;</td>
<td>40-17&nbsp;</td>
<td>.702&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hubert Hurkacz</td>
<td>28-12&nbsp;</td>
<td>.700&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Michael Mmoh&nbsp;</td>
<td>30-13&nbsp;</td>
<td>.698&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Singles Title Leaders</strong><br />
A total of seven players won at least three titles this year, with Guido Andreozzi earning a tour-leading four crowns. The Argentine tasted victory throughout the world, lifting trophies on three different continents - South America (Punta del Este, Uruguay &amp; Guayaquil, Ecuador), Africa (Tunis, Tunisia) and Europe (Szczecin, Poland).</p>
<p>It was a frantic finish to the season for Christian Garin, Jordan Thompson and Reilly Opelka, earning their third titles of the year in dramatic fashion. Garin capped his campaign on a 15-0 run, securing all of his crowns in October and November. Thompson finished on a 10-0 run with back-to-back victories on home soil in Australia, while Opelka streaked to a 9-0 finish behind a pair of titles at home in the U.S.</p>
<table class="articleTable" width="100%" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td><strong>Total</strong></td>
<td><strong>Clay</strong></td>
<td><strong>Grass</strong>&nbsp;</td>
<td><strong>Hard</strong>&nbsp;</td>
<td><strong>Carpet</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Guido Andreozzi</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>4&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pablo Andujar</td>
<td>3<br />
</td>
<td>3&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hugo Dellien</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>3&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Christian Garin</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>3&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ugo Humbert</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>2&nbsp;</td>
<td>1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Reilly Opelka</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>2&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jordan Thompson</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>3&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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<p><strong>Teen Titlists (8)<br />
</strong>Seven different teenagers accounted for a total of eight Challenger titles this year, with Felix Auger-Aliassime the lone player to win multiple crowns (Lyon, France &amp; Tashkent, Uzbekistan). At 17 years, 10 months, his repeat victory in Lyon made him the youngest player to successfully defend a title. And in October, the Canadian became the second-youngest player to win his fourth Challenger crown, behind only Richard Gasquet.</p>
<p>Germany's Rudolf Molleker became the youngest champion of the year, at 17 years and six months, on home soil in Heilbronn. Austrian teen Jurij Rodionov is the youngest from his country to lift a trophy since 1986, triumphing in Almaty, Kazakhstan.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It was also the third straight season in which a teenager reached a final on both the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour. Alex de Minaur followed in Taylor Fritz (2016) and Andrey Rublev's (2017) footsteps in achieving the feat.</p>
<table class="articleTable" width="100%" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td><strong>Title</strong></td>
<td><strong>Age</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rudolf Molleker</td>
<td>Heilbronn, GER</td>
<td>17 yrs, 6 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Felix Auger-Aliassime</td>
<td>Lyon, FRA<br />
</td>
<td>17 yrs, 10 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Felix Auger-Aliassime</td>
<td>Tashkent, UZB</td>
<td>18 yrs, 2 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Alexei Popyrin</td>
<td>Jinan, CHN</td>
<td>19 yrs</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jurij Rodionov</td>
<td>Almaty, KAZ</td>
<td>19 yrs, 1 mo.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Miomir Kecmanovic</td>
<td>Shenzhen, CHN</td>
<td>19 yrs, 2 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Alex de Minaur</td>
<td>Nottingham, UK</td>
<td>19 yrs, 4 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Corentin Moutet</td>
<td>Istanbul, TUR</td>
<td>19 yrs, 5 mos.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Title Leaders By Country</strong><br />
Players from 38 countries won titles this year, with Hugo Dellien becoming the first from Bolivia to lift a trophy since 1983. Australia and the United States boasted a tour-leading 17 winners apiece, with 12 different champions from each nation.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: lighter;"></span></p>
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<p><strong>Country<br />
</strong></p>
</td>
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<p><strong>Finals W-L<br />
</strong></p>
</td>
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<p><strong>Winners</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
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<p>United States</p>
</td>
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<p><strong>17</strong>-11</p>
</td>
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<p>Opelka-3, Rubin-2, Mmoh-2, Klahn-2, Fritz-1, Novikov-1, Kudla-1, Eubanks-1, McDonald-1, Blanch-1, Fratangelo-1, Paul-1</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p>Australia</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p><strong>17</strong>-14</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p>Thompson-3, Millman-2, Kokkinakis-2, Kubler-2, Polmans-1, Bolt-1, Ebden-1, De Minaur-1, Popyrin-1, Banes-1, Tomic-1, Duckworth-1</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p>Italy</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p><strong>14</strong>-15</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p>Quinzi-2, Lorenzi-2, Seppi-1, Berrettini-1, Cecchinato-1, Travaglia-1, Vanni-1, Caruso-1, Sonego-1, Giannessi-1, Baldi-1, Fabbiano-1</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p>Spain</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p><strong>13</strong>-14</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">Andujar-3, Munar-2, Granollers-2, Menendez Maceiras-1, Robredo-1, Martinez-1, Gutierrez Ferrol-1, Ferrer-1, Carballes Baena-1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-left-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p>France</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p><strong>13</strong>-15</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p>Humbert-3, Halys-2, Robert-1, Barrere-1, Chardy-1, Lestienne-1, Couacaud-1, Moutet-1, Monfils-1, Hoang-1</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
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<p>Argentina</p>
</td>
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<p><strong>11</strong>-9</p>
</td>
<td style="width: 77.9pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p>Andreozzi-4, Londero-2, Berlocq-1, Trungelliti-1, Bagnis-1, Delbonis-1, Pella-1</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Outside Top 400 Winners (7)</strong><br />
The slipper fit for seven Cinderella stories, with a bevy of players ranked outside the Top 400 tasting success. At No. 598, Pablo Andujar was the lowest-ranked of the group, winning on home soil in Alicante in his first Challenger event in two years (elbow surgery).</p>
<table class="articleTable" width="100%" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td><strong>Tournament</strong></td>
<td><strong>ATP Ranking</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pablo Andujar</td>
<td>Alicante, ESP</td>
<td>No. 598</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Enzo Couacaud</td>
<td>Cassis, FRA<br />
</td>
<td>No. 560</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ulises Blanch</td>
<td>Perugia, ITA</td>
<td>No. 508</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rudolf Molleker</td>
<td>Heilbronn, GER</td>
<td>No. 497</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>James Duckworth</td>
<td>Cary, USA</td>
<td>No. 418</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gregoire Barrere</td>
<td>Lille, FRA</td>
<td>No. 406</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jurij Rodionov</td>
<td>Almaty, KAZ</td>
<td>No. 406</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>ATP World Tour &amp; ATP Challenger Tour Winners (8)</strong><br />
Eight players lifted trophies on both the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour this year. Andujar became the first to win Challenger and tour-level crowns in consecutive weeks since David Goffin in 2014.</p>
<table class="articleTable" width="100%" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td><strong>ATP World Tour event</strong></td>
<td><strong>ATP Challenger Tour event</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pablo Andujar</td>
<td>Marrakech</td>
<td>Alicante, ESP; Florence, ITA &amp; Buenos Aires, ARG</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Marco Cecchinato</td>
<td>Budapest &amp; Umag<br />
</td>
<td>Santiago, CHI</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Matteo Berrettini</td>
<td>Gstaad</td>
<td>Bergamo, ITA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Martin Klizan</td>
<td>Kitzbuhel</td>
<td>Indian Wells, USA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gael Monfils</td>
<td>Doha</td>
<td>Kaohsiung, TPE</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bernard Tomic</td>
<td>Chengdu</td>
<td>Mallorca, ESP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Yoshihito Nishioka</td>
<td>Shenzhen</td>
<td>Gimcheon, KOR</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Roberto Carballes Baena</td>
<td>Quito</td>
<td>Barcelona, ESP</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Match Points Saved In Finals (2)</strong><br />
Aljaz Bedene and Daniel Evans were the only players to save a match point in a Challenger championship. Bedene denied one in the Orleans final, rallying past Antoine Hoang 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6). Evans also turned aside one in the Vancouver final, overcoming Jason Kubler 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3).</p>
<table class="articleTable" width="100%" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td><strong>M.P. Saved</strong></td>
<td><strong>Tournament</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Aljaz Bedene</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>Orleans, FRA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Daniel Evans</td>
<td>1<br />
</td>
<td>Vancouver, CAN</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Oldest Winners<br />
</strong>At 39 years, seven months, Ivo Karlovic became the oldest champion in Challenger history with his victory in Calgary, Canada. Just two weeks prior, Karlovic and David Ferrer created another slice of history with their final match-up in Monterrey, Mexico. At 76 years and one month, it was the oldest combined final ever.</p>
<table class="articleTable" width="100%" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td><strong>Title</strong></td>
<td><strong>Age</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ivo Karlovic</td>
<td>Calgary, CAN</td>
<td>39 yrs, 7 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Stephane Robert</td>
<td>Burnie, AUS<br />
</td>
<td>37 yrs, 8 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Paolo Lorenzi</td>
<td>Cordenons, ITA</td>
<td>36 yrs, 8 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Paolo Lorenzi</td>
<td>Sopot, POL</td>
<td>36 yrs, 7 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>David Ferrer</td>
<td>Monterrey, MEX</td>
<td>36 yrs, 6 mos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tommy Robredo</td>
<td>Lisbon, POR</td>
<td>36 yrs</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Doubles Title Leaders<br />
</strong>Five players claimed a tour-leading seven doubles titles this year, but it was Luke Bambridge who enjoyed the biggest rise in the ATP Doubles Rankings. The Brit soared from No. 142 to a year-end position of No. 56, behind five ATP Challenger Tour titles and his first ATP World Tour crowns.</p>
<p>In addition to tour-level crowns in Eastbourne and Stockholm with Jonny O'Mara, Bambridge won on all three surfaces with different partners on the Challenger circuit. He prevailed on the clay of Savannah (w/Santillan), grass of Surbiton (w/O'Mara), outdoor hard courts of Vancouver and Chicago (w/N Skupski) and indoor hard courts of Orleans (w/O'Mara).&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Fast Facts</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>A total of 34 different players enjoyed their <strong>maiden moments of glory</strong> this year. Molleker was the youngest of the group at the age of 17, while 29-year-old Spaniard Sergio Gutierrez-Ferrol was the oldest.</li>
<li><strong>Qualifiers</strong> won 14 titles, with Kimmer Coppejans defeating Alex Molcan in an all-qualifier final in Sevilla, Spain.</li>
<li>For the first time in Challenger history, <strong>multiple lucky losers</strong> won titles in a single season. Both are #NextGenATP Americans - Ulises Blanch (Perugia, Italy) and Tommy Paul (Charlottesville, USA).</li>
<li>Two players <strong>successfully defended titles</strong>: Felix Auger-Aliassime (Lyon, France) and Elias Ymer (Mouilleron-le-Captif, France).</li>
<li>Six <strong>unseeded wild cards</strong> won titles: Mats Moraing, Pablo Andujar, Gianluigi Quinzi, Rudolf Molleker, Thiemo de Bakker and Dragos Dima.</li>
<li>Among first-time winners, Blanch won the title in Perugia, Italy in his <strong>Challenger debut</strong>, while Molleker won in Heilbronn, Germany having never previously won a main draw match.</li>
<li>Dutch brothers Scott Griekspoor and Tallon Griekspoor both won their maiden titles, in Blois, France and Tampere, Finland, respectively. They are just the <strong>fourth pair of brothers </strong>to triumph in the same season since 2000.</li>
<li><strong>Longest final:</strong> The longest final registered at three hours and 24 minutes, with Alessandro Giannessi beating Carlos Berlocq 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 in Banja Luka, Bosnia &amp; Herzegovina. It is just seven minutes shy of the record (3:31 in Winnetka 2015).</li>
<li><strong>Shortest completed final:</strong> At 47 minutes, Mats Moraing downed Kenny De Schepper 6-2, 6-1 in Koblenz, Germany, in the shortest final of the year.</li>
</ul>Sat, 15 Dec 2018 23:37:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-of-2018-getty-imagesBest Of 2018Getty Best Of 20182018PremiumPhotographers’ Faves: Best Pics Of 2018<p>Tennis photographers shoot tens of thousands of player images each year. Whittling that library down to just a handful of favourite photos is perhaps the hardest job of all.</p>
<p>But we tasked three of the best shooters in the sport - Getty Images' trio Clive Brunskill, Julian Finney and Matthew Stockman - to do just that. Below is the back story to each photographer's favourite image of the year and at bottom is a link to a gallery of more of their favourites from a memorable 2018 season.</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
<p><strong>Clive Brunskill<br />
</strong>Rafael Nadal&rsquo;s dominance on clay and at Roland Garros is historic. And here, I was able to photograph him just after the championship-winning point in June. But what I love about this frame is that it also tells the story of Nadal&rsquo;s opponent, Dominic Thiem, who is walking towards the net after being defeated.</p>
<p>Nadal is such a unique player to shoot because he plays with so much aggression and doesn&rsquo;t shy away from displaying his emotions. On this day he breezed to victory in straight sets and at 32 years of age, no one expects him to slow down any time soon. </p>
<p><img alt="Nadal" width="100%" src="-/media/209cf0df60424f988ff447b0eb691d9f.ashx?w=100%25" /><br />
<strong>Julian Finney<br />
</strong>Many experts say that German player Alexander Zverev is &ldquo;next up&rdquo; on the ATP World Tour, and here, I was able to photograph him in some magical afternoon light at the 2018 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.</p>
<p>A few things have to happen for this image to be created: the sun has to be out in the late afternoon, it must be at a point in the sky so that it creates shadows on the court, and I have to find the perfect vantage point on top of a building looking down at Centre Court. </p>
<p>Fortunately, many photographers typically leave for the day by the late afternoon and everything came together for me to capture this unique angle. </p>
<p><img alt="Zverev" width="100%" src="-/media/57991d22da024d7da2e5f049caea6a3c.ashx?w=100%25" /><br />
<strong>Matthew Stockman<br />
</strong>At this point, I have photographed Roger Federer thousands of times at tournaments across the world. Now, I love looking for new and creative angles that visualise his elegance as a player.</p>
<p>He always makes the impossible look easy, and here, I was able to capture him placing a forehand volley at the BNP Paribas Open in March.</p>
<p><img alt="Federer" width="100%" src="-/media/a755fd68deb34d34821b1a756b2c0546.ashx?w=100%25" /></p>Sat, 15 Dec 2018 15:00:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/infosys-surprising-second-serves-december-2018Beyond The NumbersInfosys2018Novak DjokovicDjokovic's Surprisingly Successful Second-Serve Strategy<p>Should more second serves be directed to the forehand return?</p>
<p>Second serves are slower than first serves, and forehand returns are more potent than backhand returns, hence the typical match-up of second serves directed to the backhand body-jam location.</p>
<p>While the theory makes perfect sense, the supporting analytics of blindly hitting second serves to the backhand return simply don't add up.</p>
<p>An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of players inside the 2018 year-end Top 10 reveals that they overwhelmingly serve more to the backhand with their second serves, but the win percentages are actually superior serving to the forehand.</p>
<p>The data set comes from 2018 ATP Masters 1000 events and the Nitto ATP Finals. It includes 2,368 second serves to the Deuce court and 2,217 second serves to the Ad court, with the general presumption of a right-handed returner. Each service box is broken down into three evenly spaced areas: down the T, at the body, and out wide.</p>
<p><span><strong>Deuce Court - Top 10 2018 Average<br />
</strong></span>Most second serves went down the T, to a right-handed player&rsquo;s backhand return, but the highest win percentage was out wide to their forehand return.</p>
<p><span><strong>Deuce Court &ndash; Second Serves Attempted &amp; Won (Bold = Highest)</strong></span></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>DEUCE COURT Direction</strong></td>
<td><strong>Attempted</strong></td>
<td><strong>Win Percentage</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>T&nbsp;</td>
<td><strong>53.5%</strong></td>
<td>60.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Body&nbsp;</td>
<td>23.1%</td>
<td>59.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Wide&nbsp;</td>
<td>23.4%</td>
<td><strong>63.5%</strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>World No. 1 Novak Djokovic hit the most amount of second serves out wide to the forehand (45.1%), and enjoyed his highest win percentage there as well.</p>
<p><span><strong>Novak Djokovic - Deuce Court Second Serves<br />
</strong></span>T = Made 36.6% / Won 51.9%<br />
Body = Made 18.3% / Won 59.6% <br />
<span><strong>Wide = Made 45.1% / Won 68%</strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong>Deuce Court </strong></span><span><strong>Win Percentage &ndash; WIDE<br />
</strong></span><span>1. </span><span>Juan Martin del Potro 75% (24/32)<br />
2. Novak Djokovic 68% (87/128)<br />
3. Kevin Anderson 67.6% (48/71)</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Ad Court - Top 10 2018 Average<br />
</strong></span>Directing a second serve down the T in the Ad court &ndash; to a right-hander&rsquo;s forehand return &ndash; delivered almost the exact same win percentage as going out wide to the backhand. You would expect hitting a kick serve up high and out wide to a backhand return to be vastly superior to hitting a second serve to the forehand, which also pulls the returner into the middle of the court to begin the point. But the win percentages are basically the same.</p>
<p><span><strong>Ad Court &ndash; Second Serves Attempted &amp; Won (Bold = Highest)</strong></span></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>AD COURT Direction</strong></td>
<td><strong>Attempted</strong></td>
<td><strong>Win Percentage</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>T&nbsp;</td>
<td>26.2%</td>
<td>60.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Body&nbsp;</td>
<td>33.8%</td>
<td>55.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Wide&nbsp;</td>
<td>40%</td>
<td>60.9%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The top three performers with second-serve points won down the T to the forehand in the Ad court:</p>
<p><span><strong>Ad Court Win Percentage &ndash; T<br />
</strong></span><span>1. Novak</span><span> Djokovic 73.5% (86/117)<br />
2. </span>Rafael Nadal 63.2% (24/38)<br />
3. John Isner 61.9% (13/21)</p>
<p>Yes, more second serves should definitely be directed to the opponent&rsquo;s forehand return. A main reason is the surprise factor, as almost all returners are initially sitting on a backhand return against a second serve.</p>
<p>But it&rsquo;s not all about the kicking it in to the backhand wing and starting the point; it&rsquo;s actually about attacking the forehand return and catching opponents off guard.</p>
<p><em>Editor's Note: Craig O'Shannessy is a member of Novak Djokovic's coaching team.</em></p>Fri, 14 Dec 2018 17:11:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/top-five-grand-slam-comebacks-2018Best Of 2018Kevin AndersonDavid GoffinMarin CilicMarco CecchinatoDiego Schwartzman2018Top Five Grand Slam Comebacks of 2018<style>
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<p><em>Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com looks at the top five comebacks in Grand Slam matches in 2018.</em></p>
<p><strong>5. David Goffin d. Gael Monfils, Third Round, Roland Garros (</strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/2018/520/MS024/match-stats?isLive=False"><strong>Match Stats</strong></a></span><strong>)<br />
</strong>The French faithful were roaring, &ldquo;Allez! Allez!&rdquo;; Gael Monfils was striding to his chair, chest out and a set up, and David Goffin was on the other side of the net, left to ponder how he'd come back against Monfils and the Roland Garros crowd.</p>
<p><strong>Read More: <a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/goffin-roland-garros-2018-feature">David (Goffin) vs. Goliaths</a></strong></p>
<p>The Belgian had dropped the opener 7-6(7) against Monfils, who looked primed for the third-round party. But Goffin, who at 5'11&rdquo; often has to look up to his opponents, never lets an early disadvantage sink his fortune. In his injury-shortened 2018, Goffin won eight matches after losing the first set (8-15), and in 2017, he did it a tour-best 14 times.</p>
<p>He broke early in the second set against Monfils, but the Frenchman took the third and a lob at 5-4, 30/15 in the fourth set brought up two match points for Monfils on Goffin's serve.</p>
<p><strong>Watch Highlights: Goffin Saves Four Match Points Against Monfils</strong></p>
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<p><span>Goffin, however, saved four match points that game, and won the next three games to force a deciding set. For his career, Goffin has won 65 per cent of deciding sets (77-42), and as Monfils seemed tired, relying on drop shots early in points, Goffin looked energised, racing forward,</span> calculating the slide, and angling away winners. He advanced after three hours and 58 minutes, 6-7(6), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.</p>
<p>The Belgian lost in the fourth round to eventual semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato of Italy, but after missing four weeks because of a freak eye injury earlier in the year, Goffin was pleased to be sliding on the clay with full sight.</p>
<p><img height="1080" alt="Goffin" width="1920" src="-/media/63ac6a76348c48d2a02ec34a19e569ab.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>4. Diego Schwartzman d. Kevin Anderson, Fourth Round, Roland Garros (</strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/2018/520/MS009/match-stats?isLive=False"><strong>Match Stats</strong></a></span><strong>)<br />
</strong>If the score had been reversed, few would have been surprised. But it was Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, a man whose game was honed on clay, who was trailing South Africa's Kevin Anderson, whose big-hitting game excels on fast hard courts, 1-6, 2-6 in the Roland Garros fourth round.</p>
<p>Both players were looking to reach their first Roland Garros quarter-final, and both had enjoyed their best starts to a season yet in 2018. Schwartzman won the biggest title of his career at the Rio Open presented by Claro, and Anderson had already reached three ATP World Tour finals (Pune, New York, Acapulco).</p>
<p><img height="1080" alt="Schwartzman" width="1920" src="-/media/68c67b7b179e4bfdb69711123c52b88a.ashx" /></p>
<p>But Anderson could not put away Schwartzman. He served for the match at 5-4 in the third and fourth sets but was broken both times, and Schwartzman stole the sets and the match, 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(0), 6-2. &ldquo;It's definitely one of the most emotional matches that I can say I have played,&rdquo; said Schwartzman, who had never come back from two sets down.</p>
<p>It was emotional, too, for Anderson, but the South African quickly put it behind him en route to a career year. He made the Wimbledon final, the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals and finished at a personal year-end best No. 6 in the ATP Rankings.</p>
<p><strong>3. Marco Cecchinato d. Marius Copil, First Round, Roland Garros<br />
</strong><span>One of the stories of the 2018 season &ndash; Italy's Marco Cecchinato reaching the Roland Garros semi-finals &ndash; almost didn't make it out of the first round. The 25-year-old Palermo native was down 2-6, 6-7(4), 4-5, on serve, against the 6'5&rdquo; Copil.</span></p>
<p>Before this season, Cecchinato had only four tour-level wins, but he won his maiden title at the Gazprom Hungarian Open in a comeback effort as a lucky loser (d. Millman), and the best comeback of his career began against Copil as Cecchinato rallied to advance 2-6, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2, 10-8.</p>
<p><img height="1080" alt="Cecchinato" width="1920" src="-/media/8422df3d09724f33aa395cda31978f4a.ashx" /></p>
<p>From there, Cecchinato beat Argentine lucky loser Marco Trungelliti, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/trungelliti-roland-garros-2018-feature">who drove with his grandmother in tow to make the sign-in deadline</a></span>, No. 11 Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 9 David Goffin and 2016 Roland Garros champion Novak Djokovic. Cecchinato's run ended against Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals, but the Italian would show his Paris run was no fluke by finishing in the Top 20 and with 27 tour-level wins, 23 more than he had before 2018.</p>
<p>&ldquo;<span>I think today, all day, on Philippe-Chatrier, every point, [the fans] said 'Forza, Marco'. So I think this is the best moment for me. Against </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/dominic-thiem/tb69/overview"><span>Dominic Thiem</span></a></span><span>, he is Top 10, and today all the people were for me,&rdquo; Cecchinato said after falling to Thiem. </span>&ldquo;[It] was the special tournament for me... I am very, very happy.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Watch Highlights: Cecchinato Beats Djokovic To Reach Semi-Finals</strong></p>
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<p><strong>2. Marin Cilic d. Alex de Minaur, Third Round, US Open (</strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/2018/560/MS024/match-stats?isLive=False"><strong>Match Stats</strong></a></span><strong>)<br />
</strong>It was one of those evenings &ndash; make that early mornings &ndash; that, for those in attendance, will define the 2018 US Open: The night the former champ roared back against the quick-as-hell Aussie youngster. Marin Cilic was striding into gear. Quarter-finals in Toronto and semi-finals in Cincy made the 2014 US Open champion a Flushing favourite again.</p>
<p>But Alex de Minaur had been surprising people all season. The 19-year-old Aussie started the season at No. 208 in the ATP Rankings. By the time the New York fortnight rolled around, the teenager, ranked No. 45, could skip the qualifying and rest up for the main draw.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cilic-goffin-us-open-2018-day-six"><strong>Read Match Report</strong></a></span></p>
<p>There was no downtime against Cilic, however, as the &ldquo;Demon&rdquo; sprinted to a 6-4, 6-3 advantage. Cilic was missing, and De Minaur was making him hit everything. For many inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, it was their first time witnessing the speed &ndash; and effort &ndash; the Aussie brings every match, and few were leaving their seats, even as the clock crept towards midnight.</p>
<p>Cilic, though, is familiar with the New York bright lights that leave many squinting. Before facing De Minaur, he was 7-1 in US Open five setters, and Cilic reduced his error tally and played calmer to force a fifth set. He led 5-2, before De Minaur had another march in him. At last, at 2:22 a.m., Cilic clinched his eighth match point to put the Aussie away.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was just an insane atmosphere,&rdquo; Cilic said. &ldquo;Incredible fighting spirit. He was fighting his heart out and it was just an insane match. What a comeback he made from 5-2... He played some amazing tennis and really a couple points were taking him from the victory. I was just a little bit luckier today.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Watch Highlights: Cilic Outlasts De Minaur In New York</strong></p>
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<p><strong>1. Kevin Anderson d. Roger Federer, Quarter-finals, Wimbledon (</strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/2018/540/MS004/match-stats?isLive=False"><strong>Match Stats</strong></a></span><strong>)<br />
</strong><span>Roger Federer was playing more like the man who started the season 17-0 than the player who fell in his first match at the Miami Open presented by Itau. At SW19, the Swiss had held 85 consecutive times. He had won 12 sets in a row and had yet to be pushed to a tie-break against Dusan Lajovic (No. 58), Lukas Lacko (No. 73), Jan-Lennard Struff (No. 64) and Adrian Mannarino (No. 26).</span></p>
<p>But Kevin Anderson <a href="https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/anderson-monfils-wimbledon-2018-day-7">had shown he was ready</a>, beating Frenchman Gael Monfils to reach his maiden Wimbledon quarter-final. Before that fourth-round victory, Anderson had captured only one set in five previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings vs. Monfils. Anderson's biggest Wimbledon stunner, however, was yet to come.</p>
<p><strong>Watch Highlights: Anderson Comes Back To Beat Federer In Quarter-Finals</strong></p>
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<p>Federer held match point at 6-2, 7-6(5), 5-4, Ad Out. But Anderson played it aggressively by attacking the net, and Federer's backhand pass fell short. The South African's confidence only surged from there.</p>
<p>He pushed Federer behind the baseline with his big forehand and power game &ndash; Anderson finished with 65 winners &ndash; and fist pumps followed as he forced a decider. The South African had not won a single set against Federer during their four prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, but he exhibited no signs of nerves.</p>
<p><img height="1080" alt="Anderson" width="1920" src="-/media/187b18290c2d40c587d2feed4dec5620.ashx" /></p>
<p>Seven times Anderson served to stay in the match in the fifth set, and all seven Anderson held. Instead, it was Federer, the eight-time Wimbledon champion, who cracked, dropping his serve at 11-11 before Anderson served out one of the biggest wins of his career.</p>
<p>The defeat marked only the second time Federer had let falter a two-set lead at Wimbledon (79-2; Tsonga, 2011). In the semi-finals, Anderson outlasted American John Isner 26-24 in the fifth set to reach his second Grand Slam final. Anderson fell to a resurgent Novak Djokovic in the title match.</p>Fri, 14 Dec 2018 14:25:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/atp-finals-host-city-candidates-announced-2021Nitto ATP FinalsPress ReleasesMedia ReleasesTournament News2018ATP Finals Host City Candidates Announced<p>The ATP, governing body of men&rsquo;s professional tennis, has announced the final shortlist of candidates bidding to host the ATP Finals. The cities of Manchester, England, Singapore, Tokyo, Japan, and Turin, Italy, have been selected by the ATP to progress and will now be assessed alongside London in the final phase of the bidding process to host the ATP Tour&rsquo;s crown jewel event from 2021 to 2025.</p>
<p>The announcement of the final shortlist follows an extensive bid application process that began in August 2018 in which more than 40 cities worldwide expressed an interest in hosting the prestigious season-ending event. The final phase of the process will see the ATP visit the candidate cities to further review their respective visions for the ATP Finals, with a decision on the successful candidate to be made not before March 2019.<span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman &amp; President, said: &ldquo;The level of interest we have received worldwide throughout the bid application process reflects the rich heritage of this unique tournament, as well as the success of the event at The O2 since 2009. It has been a highly competitive process, and the candidate cities on the shortlist deserve huge credit for the passion and creative vision they have shown in their respective plans to continue the growth of our showpiece event.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The ATP Finals have never stood still, remaining vibrant and relevant to fans, sponsors and media worldwide at every turn. There&rsquo;s no question that London has set a very high benchmark and, with the final shortlist announced today, we believe we will be well-placed to determine the next exciting chapter of a tournament that has come to represent the absolute pinnacle in men&rsquo;s professional tennis.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>The ATP Finals were first held in Tokyo in 1970 and have been staged in some of the major cities around the world, including New York City, Sydney, and Shanghai. The season finale&rsquo;s longest stay in a single venue was across 13 consecutive editions at Madison Square Garden from 1977-1989. The tournament has been won by many of the all-time greats, including Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic.</p>
<p>The season-ending event features only the world&rsquo;s best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams following a year-long Race to qualify, giving the winning city a highly valuable association with an integral narrative that ties together the entire ATP Tour season.</p>
<p>The tournament is to be held through 2020 at The O2 in London, where it has been staged to wide acclaim since 2009. The event has successfully established itself as one of the major annual sporting events worldwide, broadcast in more than 180 territories with global viewership figures reaching an average of 95 million each year.</p>
<p>The ATP is working with The Sports Business Group at Deloitte to manage the bidding process.</p>Fri, 14 Dec 2018 08:33:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/video/top-10-challenger-magic-moments-of-2018ChallengerHot Shot2018Top 10 Challenger Magic Moments Of 2018We count down the 10 most memorable shots on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2018.Fri, 14 Dec 2018 04:21:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/video/six-stunning-challenger-doubles-shots-from-2018ChallengerHot ShotDoubles2018Six Stunning Challenger Doubles Shots From 2018They were the six most jaw-dropping doubles shots from the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour season. Watch the magic moments of the year on the dubs circuit.Fri, 14 Dec 2018 03:29:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/news/boris-becker-interview-december-2018Player FeaturesInterviewsBoris BeckerAlexander Zverev2018Becker: "Sascha Isn't Satisfied Yet"<style>
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<p>Alexander Zverev earned the biggest title of his career last month at The O2 in London, winning the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals. The last German to capture the season finale before Zverev was former World No. 1 Boris Becker, in 1995. Becker also triumphed at the event in 1988 and 1992.&nbsp;</p>
<p>ATPWorldTour.com caught up with Becker in a wide-ranging conversation about Zverev, including his victory in London to how he can improve and what the future may hold.</p>
<p><strong>A month ago Sascha earned the biggest win of his career at the Nitto ATP Finals. Now that there&rsquo;s been some time, how important of a breakthrough do you believe that was for him?<br />
</strong>I think it was the biggest win of his career. He did win three [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 titles before, but this one was bigger, especially beating Roger and Novak in the semi-finals and finals in straight sets. I thought that was the breakthrough that everyone was waiting for.</p>
<p><strong>As you said, he had won Masters 1000 events before. So how key do you think this was compared to those wins?<br />
</strong>He's been touted by most of the experts as a future No. 1 and playing like it. He played the past two years, apart from the Grand Slams [at a high level]. You wait as a young player to take the next step at the biggest of tournaments and at the Grand Slams, unfortunately, he hasn&rsquo;t made a semi-final yet. But I think the way he performed throughout the whole week against the very best in tennis, looked to be very promising for 2019. </p>
<p>It starts with yourself. If you gain a bit of confidence, if you start beating the best tennis players in the world day after day, you deep down start to believe that you really belong there. That&rsquo;s why I think it was a big breakthrough.</p>
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<p><strong>Speaking of the experts touting him as a future World No. 1, if you do, why do you believe he can be the best player in the world?<br />
</strong>First of all, it&rsquo;s not so easy to achieve. The No. 1 spot is busy, it&rsquo;s taken right now by Novak, but Rafa had it for most of the year and even Roger was No. 1 for a couple of weeks, so you&rsquo;re talking about three of the greatest players of all time. Reaching No. 1 for anybody else is very difficult. Plus, he&rsquo;s surrounded by some of his generation, the likes of Tsitsipas, Khachanov and Shapovalov. They are right behind him and I think it&rsquo;s just a very difficult feat to do right now in tennis, to overtake everybody, because it&rsquo;s such a crowded time to play.</p>
<p><strong>How difficult is it to deal with the pressure of people touting you as a possible future No. 1?<br />
</strong>Pressure is sometimes overrated and sometimes underrated. I think if Sascha couldn&rsquo;t cope with the pressure, he wouldn&rsquo;t be consistently now, the past two years, in the Top 5 [of the ATP Rankings]. So I think pressure is the least of his problems. I think it&rsquo;s the quality of players. To play Rafa on clay, Novak on hard and Roger on everything else, it&rsquo;s just very, very difficult. If you can&rsquo;t handle the pressure, then ultimately you should find another job. But it&rsquo;s really the quality of the opposition that would be the biggest problem for him and everybody else.</p>
<p><strong>Do you remember the first time you met Sascha or saw him play?<br />
</strong>It was funny because when [Zverev's brother] Mischa was in his early 20s, I supported him with the German Federation. I talked to his father, his mother and Mischa and Mischa said, &lsquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m good and everything. But my brother will be much better.&rsquo; </p>
<p>Little Sascha was about 10 years old, a skinny toothpick. I said, &lsquo;Hopefully you&rsquo;re right.&rsquo; And obviously 10 years later, they were right. He&rsquo;s come a long way, and he&rsquo;s not so skinny anymore.</p>
<p><img alt="Becker, Zverev" width="100%" src="-/media/3883d17165f6498f9a32c63ad88e4cce.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>What do you think he&rsquo;s improved the most over these past few years that has allowed him to consistently stay at this level?<br />
</strong>I think it&rsquo;s his belief and his quality. He understands now that he belongs in the Top 5. He shows a remarkable consistency for someone so young. It&rsquo;s one thing playing good one tournament, six months a year. It&rsquo;s far more difficult to come back and defend it. </p>
<p>Everyone knows how you&rsquo;re playing now, the competition obviously. The locker room never sleeps. So for him to come back this year and confirm his quality, I think it&rsquo;s his biggest achievement. Of course he&rsquo;s physically stronger now, the groundstrokes are better, but I think ultimately it&rsquo;s down to your own confidence and the belief that you belong.</p>
<p><strong>To be in the Top 5, you typically won&rsquo;t have a true weakness. But do you think there&rsquo;s a shot or a quality in his game he needs to improve significantly to take another step forward?<br />
</strong>I think there&rsquo;s a big difference [between] consistently playing Top 5 or Top 10. It&rsquo;s a different quality. So I would emphasise that he&rsquo;s a Top 5 player. He&rsquo;s a student of the game. For him to ask Ivan Lendl to improve his quality and performances speaks volumes. He could have said he&rsquo;s happy with his father and his surroundings, he&rsquo;s doing well. But no, he wants to be better, he wants to get better. Hiring Ivan, he's one of the best coaches in the game today, and when their partnership started in September, I was very happy. I knew right away that Sascha isn&rsquo;t satisfied yet. He wants to get to the very top. I think with Ivan on his side, he can achieve that dream.</p>
<p><strong>Is there something in particular Ivan can bring to his game?<br />
</strong>I think the understanding of when to do what. There is one thing to practise the right away, but it&rsquo;s another thing to prepare to play on the morning of a semi-final, of a final against the very best. It&rsquo;s strategy, it&rsquo;s tactics, it&rsquo;s mindset, it&rsquo;s attitude and that has nothing to do with any strokes&hellip; to understand when to do what against whom. When you coach players, most of them are happy to be in the semi-finals, and they start to relax a little bit and the tournament&rsquo;s already good. When Ivan is on your side, once you&rsquo;re in the semi-finals, the tournament has really just started.</p>
<p><img alt="Zverev Becker" width="100%" src="-/media/e9a9d152e0194b09ba2f3511cfb42ed5.ashx" /></p>
<p><strong>Of course you&rsquo;ve spoken to Sascha, so what&rsquo;s the biggest lesson you&rsquo;ve tried to impart to him?<br />
</strong>Being the head of German tennis, I&rsquo;ve tried to mentor him for the past two years. As I said to his brother and his family &mdash; I&rsquo;m very close to him &mdash; and we often speak about tennis and I give him my thoughts, but he&rsquo;s like a sponge. He wants to know, he wants to talk, he wants to practise, and I think that&rsquo;s the most important thing, is that he understands that there are still a lot of things he needs to do overall.</p>
<p><strong>Saying he&rsquo;s a sponge and a student of the game, is that something that&rsquo;s always been a part of him?<br />
</strong>I have known him a couple years now, and he has this belief and confidence that, without being arrogant or without carrying his nose too high, he feels he&rsquo;s got something in him that&rsquo;s special, and I think that&rsquo;s the most interesting thing that I&rsquo;ve found about him, that he really believes and he feels that he&rsquo;s one of the best players in the world and he wants to get to the very top.</p>
<img alt="Becker Zverev" width="100%" src="-/media/19d86008e1d941078d9d8c2c172c434d.ashx" />&nbsp;
<p><strong>What do you think the biggest misconception about Sascha or his game is?<br />
</strong>He&rsquo;s very talkative and I&rsquo;m talking from a German point of view. He gives wonderful interviews in English, you may remember his winner&rsquo;s speech after he won at The O2. He was funny, and he made fun of himself and his friends. Sometimes in Germany he doesn&rsquo;t come across that way. Some of the German media thinks he&rsquo;s a bit arrogant and he doesn&rsquo;t care, and he&rsquo;s a bit cocky and all of that, and there&rsquo;s nothing further from the truth. I wish he would come across in German the way he does in English.</p>
<p><strong>How important do you think he can be for German tennis on the whole?<br />
</strong>He&rsquo;s now a superstar. Together with Angie Kerber, he can really put tennis back on the map in Germany. Both have gained millions of new fans in the past two years and they want to see him do well. </p>
<p>We&rsquo;ve been blessed with a couple of good players in the past and some of the other players like Tommy Haas, Rainer Schuettler and others up to Philipp Kohlschreiber, they&rsquo;re all very good, but I think Sascha is special. I just hope that he can continue to play great, continue to be proud of his country. It goes a long way. He&rsquo;s only 21 years, so hopefully this thing will go for a long, long time.</p>Thu, 13 Dec 2018 18:34:00 Zhttps://www.atptour.com/en/video/djokovics-surprisingly-successful-secondserve-strategyPlayer FeaturesNovak DjokovicInfosys2018Djokovic's Surprisingly Successful Second-Serve StrategyInfosys ATP Beyond The Numbers shows how Novak Djokovic goes against conventional wisdom, with success, on his second serve. Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images.Thu, 13 Dec 2018 17:44:47 Z